ANNOTATING (CODING) A TEXT When we read for academic purposes, we are always annotating in order to make sense of what we read, highlight what stands out, prepare for discussion, and provide markers for revisiting the text. While a yellow highlighter is fine for an initial reading, a more detailed system of annotation will enable you to read more efficiently. The margins of textbooks are there for a reason. Use them! Most of us devise our own systems of annotation as we go along. If you are unsure of how to proceed, the following system is a good place to start. This is interesting! I This is important! * This is confusing – I need to re-read, look for context clues, or read ahead and come back. ? This is surprising ! This is evidence for a point I want to make E The ideas are in this order: 1, 2, 3 . . .
Most of us devise our own systems of annotation as we go along. If you are unsure of how to proceed, the following system is a good place to start.
This is interesting! I
This is important! *
This is confusing – I need to re-read, look for context clues, or read ahead and come back. ?
This is surprising !
This is evidence for a point I want to make E
The ideas are in this order: 1, 2, 3 . . .